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Cenobite
Cenobites are extradimensional beings who appear in the works of Clive Barker. Their existence is shown in many of Barker's works, including the novella The Hellbound Heart, all of the Hellraiser films and comics, and The Scarlet Gospels. They were also mentioned in the Weaveworld novel. They can reach Earth's reality only through a schism in time and space, which is opened and closed using certain unearthly artifacts. The most common form for these artifacts is that of an inconspicuous-looking puzzle box called the Lament Configuration. The cenobites vary in number, appearance, and motivations depending on the medium (film, comic book, etc.) in which they appear. The involvement of multiple parties in the production of Hellraiser films and comics (many eschewing the creative supervision of Clive Barker) have led to varying levels of consistency regarding the canonical aspects of their philosophies and abilities. Etymology The English word "cenobite" and "cenobitic" are derived, via Latin, from the Greek words koinos (κοινός), "common", and bios (βίος), "life." The adjective can also be cenobiac (κοινοβιακός, koinobiakos). Concept and design After being disappointed with the way his material had been treated by producers in Underworld, Barker wrote The Hellbound Heart as his first step in directing a film by himself. After securing funding in early 1986, Barker and his producer Chris Figg assembled a team to design the cenobites. Among the team was Bob Keen and Geoff Portass at Image Animation and Jane Wildgoose, a costume designer who was requested to make a series of costumes for 4-5 "super-butchers" while refining the scarification designs with Image Animation. Barker drew inspiration for the cenobite designs from punk fashion, Catholicism (the overall design is a modified cassock, the traditional garment of a Catholic priest until the 1960's) and by the visits he took to sadomasochist clubs in New York and Amsterdam. Description The cenobites all have horrific mutilations and/or body piercings, and wear fetishistic black leather clothing that often resembles butchery garments or religious vestments. The clothing also serves to support their piercings and tools. The religious aspects of their origins and motivations are ambiguous: despite the presence of the word "Hell" in the franchise, there is no overt reference or iconography linking the cenobites to any traditional Abrahamic or Eastern depiction of damnation, demonic nature, or Infernal origin, leaving the most likely interpretation to be that to an outside observer, the bizarre and unpleasant properties of the Cenobites' native plane of existence would likely be interpreted to be Hell or "hellish". In fact, the cenobites originally exhibited amoral personalities (neither demonstrably malicious nor beneficent) displaying a depraved indifference or lack of empathy towards their victims. They acquired more traditional demonic attributes and designations as beings of Hell in the latter incarnations, particularly the comic books. The philosophical motivations of the Cenobites change with time and medium. In their original incarnation, they manifested as devoted followers of a supernatural hedonism with unorthodox definitions of pleasure; although vaguely described, this form of pleasure endorsed by the cenobites involved two distinct forms: the expansion of sensation to an extremely painful point of sensory overload, and enduring excruciating pain through incessant tortures that transcend traditional laws of physics. They exhibited no discernible morality or immorality, merely the unwavering devotion to their craft. In the film adaptation (''Hellraiser) they exhibited a more severe tone: impatient, stern, humorless, and almost intractably officious towards their duties, as well as capable of duplicity, illustrated when they attempt to violate their bargain with Kirsty Cotton (in the novella, they honored their agreement). As the film and comic books series progressed, the cenobites (particularly Pinhead) began to manifest traditionally evil and sinister traits, due likely in part to an attempt to streamline them into a more mainstream characterization of horror archetypes. Hellraiser films Beginning with Hellbound: Hellraiser II, the cenobites take on very distinct changes, and much of their ambiguous nature is eliminated through exposition. They are revealed to be former humans who have been converted into cenobites by the supernatural power native to their home dimension; the source of that power is shown to be a deity named Leviathan ("the god of flesh and desire"), which appears as a massive, rotating lozenge with patterns of Le' Marchant's box on its panels. The original three male cenobites were dubbed "Pinhead", "Chatterer", and "Butterball" and the one female cenobite called "Deepthroat". The cenobite dimension is depicted as a massive labyrinth resembling M.C. Escher's Relativity lithograph, with Leviathan levitating above its center. Although the original cenobites are "killed' at the conclusion, the following installment Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth explains that Pinhead was merely divided into two halves: a vastly powerful evil one (Pinhead) and weaker benevolent one (the ghost of his former human self). Hellraiser III and Hellraiser: Bloodline display the most drastic change in the cenobites, characterizing them (Pinhead in particular) as supervillains intent on world domination and torturing all of humanity for their own gleefully sadistic enjoyment. Bloodline attempted to connect the cenobites to Western concepts of evil with the introduction of Angelique, a denizen of Hell who embodied many traits of a succubus and adopted a more traditionally hedonistic lifestyle on Earth for many centuries; a crucial subplot to the film indicated that Hell underwent a purist revolution of sorts during her absence, and that her disapproval of the newer austere way prompts her to resist by sabotaging Pinhead's master plan. She largely succeeds, but is captured and converted into a cenobite in the process. Although subsequent sequels retain the nature of the cenobites as malevolent entities, their presence has been reduced in later installments to serve key narrative moments rather than carry an entire film and story alone, and that the more extreme aspects of their behaviors have been curtailed in favor of more restrained conduct. It should be noted that a number of franchise entries, notably the seventh and eighth installments (Hellraiser: Deader and Hellraiser: Hellworld) initially began as uninvolved scripts that were adapted and re-written as Hellraiser sequels by the controlling parties. Powers & Abilities The physical composition of cenobites gives them each a number of unique abilities, but there are a few traits common to all. When summoned, they seem to be able to decide exactly when, where, and by what means they will appear. In Hellraiser, the cenobites appeared immediately in the hospital room where Kirsty called them. Later, they appeared from the darkness of the attic when she led them to their quarry. In Hellraiser II, when the configuration was solved, they caused the rooms they manifested in to take on the stonework and cyclopean properties of their native Labyrinth. They all appear to be telekinetic to a degree, able to control the hooked chains that are their trademark, as well as snatch small objects at a distance (as Angelique recovered the box in Hellraiser IV). Though not entirely confirmed, they seem to be able to summon forth their chains from any nearby shadows. They each seem to possess great strength, heightened resistance to damage, and some degree of supernatural empathy. They also tend to be patient, logical, and discerning. Individual abilities vary widely. In the two earlier movies, there was little difference among them until Dr. Channard was created, presenting the ability to generate custom tentacles and spears. However, he seemed to represent an element of the shifting powers of the Labyrinth. When the Pinhead character’s inhuman evil manifests in the world in Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth it seems to have nearly unlimited and highly versatile powers. His human side suggests that he is no longer bound by the rules governing other cenobites (suggesting others among them might have such power). He can telekinetically control vast areas, transmorph matter, create and control fire, and animate objects. In any case, he creates cenobites in both the third and fourth movies that have powers unique to their forms, such as a man that launches razor edged CDs, a pair of twins that can crush people between their bodies, a man with a pneumatic camera eye that can impale targets, and so forth. Hellraiser comic book series In 1989, following the success of the Hellraiser and Hellraiser II movies, Epic Comics began publishing series of comic book spin-offs for the Hellraiser franchise. The comics contained a set of short stories, with Clive Barker acting as a consultant on all of the comics. Epic published twenty regular series comics, from 1989 to 1992. The comic book series largely adopted a narrative structure similar to The Twilight Zone with ironic twists to accentuate the impact of the ending, and retained continuity with the second film. However, a series of recurring Cenobite characters were created and a unifying agenda carried many intermittent and continuing story arcs throughout the run. Although Pinhead was one of these recurring characters, his presence was eclipsed by a number of other prominent cenobites (particularly one known as "Hunger" due to his cachetic appearance) who acted as antagonists and protagonists. In the comics, Hell was depicted as a power working in opposition to other vague, humanistic powers due to a conflict in philosophies regarding otherworldly concepts of order and chaos. Although never expounded upon by their writers with any definite clarity, the philosophy held by Hell and its god Leviathan is depicted as a militant belief in "order" that finds the humanistic aspects of flesh to be a hindrance or obstacle to it; apparently, suffering is viewed as having a cosmic, universal truth and importance to this order, and the cenobites' concepts of pleasure and application of it through torture are seen as bringing order to the flesh. The conflict between Leviathan and its enemies are manifested at times as war, propaganda campaigns, or by individual victories characterized by obtaining new victims. Notes *The Cenobites appear in the Robot Chicken episode "Tubba-Bubba's Now Hubba-Hubba." In one sketch, the Cenobites are spoofed in the style of the Girl Gone Wild franchise. *The Cenobites are spoofed as monsters in The Cabin in the Woods. The one known as "Hell Lord" is Fornicus, Lord of Bondage and Pain (played by Greg Zach), a spoof of Pinhead, but with circular saw blades coming out of his head. Solving a globe-like puzzle in the cabin's basement would summon him to slay whoever solves the puzzle. Gary Sitterson bets on them. References Category:Sentient Beings Category:Sapient Beings Category:Demons Category:Paranormal Beings Category:Hellraiser Universe Category:Magical Creatures Category:Fictional Creatures Category:Unknown Diet Category:Humanoids Category:Characters Debuting in 1986 Category:Literary Creatures Category:Movie Creatures Category:Live Action Creatures Category:Immortal Creatures Category:LC